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“Desdemona must be getting desperate if she's seeking help from someone who could destroy her,” Adam pointed out the same thought Peri had just had.

“She’s getting desperate if she would even consider unleashing demons from the Veil on this world.” Peri added.

“What are we going to do?” Elle asked. “If our own people won’t help what chance do we have?”

Peri took a deep breath. Adam and Elle had known Peri for a very long time and this was the first time they had ever seen her truly worried.

“I’m going to use the stones to petition the Great Luna.”

Elle gasped. “It’s that bad?”

Peri looked at her two friends, her comrades in arms. She wouldn’t lie to them. It wouldn’t be fair. After all, they were sacrificing to be here with her.

“The Werewolf Wars and the Great Purge were cakewalks compared to what it will be like if those demons are allowed on this side of the veil.” Peri stood. “You two need to lay low until the meeting tomorrow night. I’m going to have to get closer to the Veil so that I can draw on its power and add it to my own and that of the stones.”

“Perizada, you watch yourself.” Adam’s eyes narrowed. “You know there are many who would not hesitate to send you into the next life to get their hands on those stones.”

Peri’s lips curled up in a small smile. “Adam, even as old as you are you are still so very young. You do realize who you are speaking to, correct?”

Elle grinned and Adam tried to hide his own. “Yes, I know you are...what does the Serbian’s mate say? A bad ass?”

“You’d do well not to forget that, fairy boy.”

Adam rolled his eyes at the nickname she had no doubt picked up from the American girls.

Peri left them staring after her as she headed once again into the Transylvanian Alps.

Chapter 7

“If you think the life of a Canis lupis historian is interesting, you would be wrong. No offense, but seriously? Sitting, waiting on your Alpha to send you data to archive gets old really quickly. Going through ancient archives and converting them to digital; format? Boring! Some days I think stabbing myself in the eye with a spoon would be more interesting, so you can imagine my excitement at having the Great Luna appear. I’ll remember next time not to get excited until after she tells me what she wants.” ~Wadim

Wadim laughed as he read the latest t-shirt his sister had sent to him. This one was probably not something to wear around the pups – not that there were any in their pack. He frowned at that thought.

“Historians do it over and over and over…” he read the shirt aloud, smiling at the slight jab she was adding to the sexual innuendo. They continually argued over the fact that history was doomed to repeat itself. Her argument was that people change and, therefore, history had to change. His argument was, “I’m the historian and I know more than you”. She always growled when he threw that one at her. He folded the shirt haphazardly and laid it on the end of his desk, amongst the many papers and files. He had been working on getting the most recent happenings of their pack into the database. Vasile had been adamant about recording the reappearance of the gypsy healers, and the dormants being mated to full-bloods. Wadim was trying to keep events up to date in the system and continue to work on finding archives that pertained to the current crisis. The older archives were still in paper form, which made the job very time-consuming. He was operating on very little sleep and knew that he needed rest. Having his eyes cross at the computer screen due to exhaustion wasn’t exactly conducive to accurate record keeping.

He checked his watch and saw that it was only 6pm. Bedtime or not, he was going to fall asleep at his desk or his bed, wherever he landed.

“The bed it is,” he spoke into the empty room, heading for his quarters.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Wadim knew that he was still asleep even as he sat up on the edge of his bed. Looking around, he realized he wasn’t in his room. The room he was in was illuminated with a soft light that seemed just bright enough to keep darkness dancing several feet away. He stood and turned in a circle, looking around him. The walls were stone grey and all around there were sconce lights. In between each sconce was a picture of a wolf, or group of wolves. Wadim could tell by the sheer size of them that they weren’t natural wolves. These were Canis lupis. There was a large, round, deep purple rug in the center of the room. A glass table was on the rug and around the table was various chairs, including a love seat and a chaise lounge.

He took a step forward, toward a white, wing-backed chair. The air rippled around him and caressed his face gently. He looked for a window or door, something that would have brought the breeze. He once again turned in a full circle. Standing behind him where the bed had been was a beautiful woman. She was tall and had long white hair that glowed with a soft halo of light. Her eyes were also white, no pupils, and seemed to glow with the same light. She had a straight nose and full, pink lips that were turned up in a soft smile. A shimmering cloak shifted from silver to purple with her movements.

Wadim watched in awe as she walked toward him, although with the grace that she moved it was more like gliding. He couldn’t look away as he waited for her to speak. When she finally did, her voice was a soothing balm that eased every worry and quieted every busy thought.

“Welcome, Wadim, keeper of the knowledge of the Romanian pack, child of mine.”

Wadim wasn’t sure if he should bow, kneel, or kiss her hand. He didn’t know the protocol for meeting the Great Luna, for he was sure that it was her that stood before him

“A simple ‘hello’ will do, keeper.” Her laugh was a musical chime that brought a smile to his face.

“You can read my mind?” He asked tentatively.

“Of course. I created you; I know everything about you,” she told him.

Wadim ran a hand across his face with a small groan. “Man, that cannot be good.”

Again with the musical laugh. “I have not brought you here to discuss your own life, Wadim. Not yet, anyway. There are bigger happenings going on in your world, bigger than any one being of any one species.”

She motioned for Wadim to take a seat and she took the one across from him.

“I have been petitioned by one of the great Fae, Perizada. She has come to me on behalf of the wolves, my wolves. How much do you know about the situation unfolding in your world?”